Whew, that was just what I needed. The hot spring felt great. Big, open baths are the best.
I'm dressed? Check.
I have my stuff? Check.
Alright, time to ask Chika about the so-
AKI: "Huh? Oh, hi Riko!"
RIKO: "Good evening, going to bed?"
AKI: "Kinda, what are you doing here? It's so late."
RIKO: "My mother made a lot of stewed dishes, so I brought some over to share as thanks for earlier. Oh, and the CDs too of course."
AKI: "Are you sure? Thanks."
RIKO: "I was hesitant to tell you this earlier, but there's something about the festival that I wanted to check with Chika."
AKI: "Y'know, I was actually curious about her response today, too. I was planning on asking her about it."
RIKO: "Really? Let's go together then."
AKI: "Okay."
Hmmm... It is late, what if she's sleeping? It'd be rude to wake her up.
RIKO: "Chika, are you awake?"
No hesitation?!
AKI: "G-Good evening, may we come in?"
CHIKA: "WAAAH! Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you two doing?!"
I knew this was a bad idea...
AKI: "She's awake."
RIKO: "Sorry to drop by unannounced, but I needed to talk to you about something."
CHIKA: "About what?"
AKI: "Hey, it's that notebook. Were you writing in it, Chika?"
CHIKA: "U-Umm..."
RIKO: "Chika, just wondering, but are you worried about the song?"
CHIKA: "Eh?"
AKI: "I was thinking the same thing. You were acting strange when we talked this afternoon. I know the lead-up to a show can be nerve-racking, so it's normal to worry until the last moment about songs and dances. If you're worried about that, I want to help you. I did say that I'd do whatever I could to help!"
RIKO: "I feel the same way. Besides, if it's about the song, it affects everyone in Aqours. Don't bottle it up inside."
I'm glad that Riko has taken my advice. Hard to believe that she was in the exact same situation earlier.
CHIKA: "Thanks guys."
AKI: "But then again, I'm not part of your group so I don't have much right to make comments on your songs."
CHIKA: "That's not true!"
AKI: "Huh?"
CHIKA: "I'm... I'm happy that you want to help. And you guys are right. There's something about the song that bothers me. Will you hear me out?"
AKI: "Sure."
RIKO: "Let's hear it."
CHIKA: "Thanks. It's about the lyrics to the new song for the festival."
AKI: "I knew it. Can I read the notebook in case you updated it?"
CHIKA: "Of course!"
RIKO: "You've been worried about the lyrics the whole time. I thought you shaped it out after asking everyone in Aqours for advice."
So that's why they wrote in the notebook...
AKI: "Come to think of it, you did say that song-writing wasn't going smoothly when I first met you. And then there was the time you said you weren't confident in your ability."
Hmmm... These lyrics seem new. The old ones are still there, but Chika has made progress.
CHIKA: "After you left that day I wrote the lyrics imagining the excitement and liveliness of a festival. I wanted the people who come to see the show to leave feeling like they'd never had more fun."
AKI: "I can feel that in the new lyrics. But you're not finished yet, are you?"
CHIKA: "No. I always feel accomplished when I finish lyrics. But I haven't felt that yet, it's not like the lyrics are completely wrong for the song."
AKI: "What about that dream you had? About that journey or something? It was like something out of Arabian Nights."
CHIKA: "Oh that? I'm not sure it captures the festival spirit."
AKI: "Huh, I found it interesting."
RIKO: "Hey, didn't you tell me that my piano playing earlier felt like a journey?"
AKI: "I did. Say... What if you made a song out of that? A song about a journey."
CHIKA: "It sounds cool but it doesn't say Summer Festival."
AKI: "Then what says 'Summer Festival' to you?"
RIKO: "Well, a festival is lively, just like you said, Chika. Plus there's the shouts of people carrying the mikoshi shrine, the lights from the carts at night..."
CHIKA: "What about you? What does a festival make you think of?"
AKI: "Good question, but this is the first time I've ever taken part in a Summer Festival. My Dad would always brush off 'silly' events like them. I was surprised to see how many people are involved in getting a festival ready. Planning, promoting, set-building, equipment providing, decoration...
Everyone gets the town ready to make all the people happy. The festival that you've told me about? To me, it's the product of one wish everyone has in their hearts."
CHIKA: "Yeah, you're right. Lots of people support the festival. You can't have a festival without the people who make it, or the people who come to enjoy it. Festivals are made by everyone. Festivals come to be from the love in everyone's hearts!"
The love in everyone's hearts, huh? An interesting thought.
AKI: "It's kinda like a journey, everyone follows it to reach what they're looking for."
RIKO: "So, making a festival, is like a journey?"
AKI: "It can be. But it can't happen without other people. It can sometimes take one person to come into your life to make you pursue something."
CHIKA: "AH! WAIT! AKI, HAND ME MY NOTEBOOK!"
AKI: "Whoa, what's gotten into you? Here, take it."
RIKO: "Looks like a light bulb has been lit."
AKI: "She's writing with such fury."
Chika's eyes, they're shining.
Everything is going to be fine. I just know it.